Northern Kentucky Wins 2023 Barbasol #HLMBB Championship
INDIANAPOLIS - Horizon League champion again, Northern Kentucky will get its moment in the Big Dance. The No. 4 seed Norse edged No. 3 Cleveland State Tuesday night 63-61 in the 2023 Barbasol Horizon League Men’s Basketball Championship.
No. 4 Northern Kentucky 63, No. 3 Cleveland State 61
A League member since 2015, NKU (22-12) has now won four League tournament titles and is back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019. The Norse won the tournament in 2020 but the season ended prematurely, now they’re getting their moment.
“It’s huge (to be back in the NCAA Tournament),” Northern Kentucky head coach Darrin Horn said. “The hardest thing I’ve ever had to do as a coach was tell that group they weren’t going to get to play. We’re just excited to be a part of it. I’m really happy for our players.”
Marques Warrick was voted tournament MVP after scoring a game-high 18 points. Sam Vinson added 16 points and Trey Robinson 12.
The game was as advertised, a back-and-forth battle between two defensive-minded teams. NKU is the league leader in scoring defense and Cleveland State ranks third. The game featured 14 lead changes and 12 ties. And all of that came on the season’s biggest stage, after the two teams split a pair of regular season games that were each decided by one point.
“Cleveland State is a really hard team to play against. They were terrific, hats off to them for a terrific season,” Horn said. “We knew coming into the game it would be a war, and that’s how it played out. The message to our guys was to stay aggressive. That’s stepping up and making shots and making plays on defense and that was the difference in the game tonight.”
“Defensively, we want to limit them with transition defense. It starts with stops as well,” Warrick said.
In the game’s final minutes, NKU held on to a 54-50 lead with Cleveland State attacking the basket. NKU got back-to-back blocks by Robinson and Chris Brandon that led to a jumper by Vinson and a Cleveland State timeout. CSU’s Yahel HIll answered with a corner 3 out of the timeout to slow NKU’s momentum but then NKU’s Xavier Rhodes hit the biggest shot of the night.
Rhodes heaved a deep 3-pointer with the shot clock expiring that put NKU ahead 59-53 with 1:52 to go.
“We were just yelling 3, 2, shoot it, shoot it,” Vinson said. “The shot went in and the crowd went crazy. We just had to play defense after that.”
Warrick made four-straight free throws with the game on the line to keep Northern Kentucky ahead. The Norse led 65-60 in the game’s final seconds before a Cleveland State 3-pointer with less than a second provided the final margin.
“I’m just very proud of this group,” Cleveland State head coach Daniyal Robinson said. “They played hard tonight, just like they do on a night-to-night basis. I want to thank each and every one of them. Although we fell short tonight, they’ve made a ton of people proud.”
Northern Kentucky had a 16-5 edge in made free throws and a 21-7 advantage in points off turnovers. The gritty, tough style of play that NKU succeeds with will now be on display in front of the entire nation during March Madness.
“After you get down the road a bit in this business, you’re happy for your players, you’re happy for your fans,” Horn said. “You know the impact being in the NCAA Tournament has for exposure and bringing people together creates excitement and pride in the school and program.”